Spring seat construction



Nov. 30, 1937. H. c. FLINT SPRING SEAT CONSTRUCTION 2 sheets-sheet 1' Filed June 24, 1935 Nov. 30, 1937; H, FUNT 2,100,476

SPRING SEAT CONSTRUCTION r 7 Filed June 24, 1955 2 Sheeis-Sheet 2 V Patented Nov. 36, 1.93.? l I i I 2,100,476 SPRING SEAT CONSTRUCTION Byland 0. Flint, Detroit, Mich assignor, by direct and mesne assignments, to Patent Sales, Inc., a corporation of Michigan Application June. 24, 1935, Serial No. 28,181 I v 7 Claims. (01. 155-53) A .This invention relates to a seat construction of persons using the seat, and the presentinvenand has special reference to a spring unit for tion contemplates such provision. use in chairs, 'davenports, vehicle seats or furni- .In th ca f a seat in a moving V h l it I ture or other constructions wherein it is desired would be desirable to provide a rather flrm sup- 5 to provide a synchronization of the movable port for the kidneys and that portion of the members thereof in order to efiect a floating sup-' body at the small of the back. But at present port for the user in which a minimum number nearly all vehicles, and particularly motor cars, of moving parts is utilized to effect the unison have what is called pitch or the tendency to of movement. throw the passenger away from the back of the UNITED STATES PATENT oFiucE,

I More particularly, this invention relates to a seat." In order to prevent this bitch" as far as m spring unit construction for chairsr davenports, possible, it has been necessary to make the vevehicle seats or the like preferably of the unison hicle back restv very soft and resilient. It can type wherein the back rest is synchronized in its be seen that if the entire back restof a seat were vertical movement with the movement of the seat, firm, the pitching would be accentuated. It can in which unit theback rest is provided with a also be seen that all softness of the back rest primary 'flexible supporting means of relative allows the back of a person to fall into aconvex stifiness, and a secondary flexible, supporting or how shape, unless physically resisted, due to means of relative softness for supporting the the third point of pivot or joint at the small 0 back of an occupant in a natural posture. the back. However, if that portion above th When one is seated in a chair or otherarticle small of the back wer very soft and that p go of" furniture having a seat and a back rest tion, at the small o the back were much that are provided with deep padding, springs or firmer, the seat would 'thereby provide an ideal other shock absorbing material, and the' seat back rest that would absorb to a large degree the thereby being capable of substantial vertical pitching and-yet provide a firm support at the movement and the back rest of substantial horismall of the back, provided, however, that thls 25 zontal movement, there are two directions, of double type of support could move in accurate movement made by the body, one being vertiunison with the seat. If this unison of movecally with the seat frame. the other being horiment is not obtained, then the firm support inzontally against the back resh The pivot point tended for the small of the .back would not be at the hip, where the limbs ofa person jointhe in a proper position and would not obtain the 30 trunk, permits this double motion. Therefore, desired advantages. It is urged, therefore, that a chair'or seat to be really comfortable should a construction, wherein a relatively stiff flexible provide the above double motion in unisonin the support is employed at the proper location in a same manner that the bodyof a. person performs back rest and allowed to move vertically with its movements in unison.

However, it has been found that the body of tion, would prevent that tiresome feeling that a a person occupying 'aseat is susceptible of anwholly softtbatcl: rest giilresf fir-1411111520; little posi- ,other motion at a portion located at the small tive s pp a he 5 0 c w of t back which in eflecg 1 m j pivotal One of the objects of this invention is to pro- 40, point other Words, that part f the body vide a seat construction as above characterized, 40 above m f the back may, -shdmd 'in'which the back rest thereof is capable of uniqeafi farther m the back rest than that son movement with the verticallymovable seat,- portion substantiauy at thesman of the back theback rest being capable of relative rigid and in order that the back as a whole may maintain 7 flexible support within itself and the supporting means lying in a common plane. its natural posture w effort The back Another object of this invention is to provide shmld be s1pp9rted m a concave position and a seat construction as hereinabove noted, where- 1 therein. lies the secret 0! real relaxed comm; in at last one of the supporting means of the in type of seat Theremreseat shmnd back rest shall furnish the means for unison of incorporate the above featul'eii'to Permit c movement thereof with the seat. 5 with movement M and A further object of this invention is to provide b ck r t the firmness at the Small o a seat-construction, wherein at least two points the backwill at n times-be in the proper posi or pivotal support are pr v e in order to main tion, regardless of how much or how little the tainanatural posture or an-occupantinarelaxed seat movesup or down by the varying weights position. I

the seat,- thereby maintaining the proper locag Other objects and advantages will hereinafter be more particularly pointed out, and for a more complete understanding of the characteristic features of this invention reference may now be had 'to the following description when taken together with the accompanying drawings, in which latter:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of an unupholstered seat construction embodying the features of this invention showing the means for unison movement of the back rest and the seat, and also showing one of the relatively stiff supporting means of the back rest in full lines and the relatively soft flemble supporting means in dotted lines;

Fig. 2 isa front face view of the construction as shown in Fig. 1, a portion of the relatively soft flexible supporting lines being shown in section;

Fig. 3 is a side view of the construction of Fig.

' 2 with a portion of the back restframe cut away;

Fig. 4 is a plan view of Fig. 2 with the soft.

form of seat construction as embodied in an arti- I cle of upholstered furniture;

Fig. 8 is a diagrammatic side elevational view of a conventional seat construction showing the normal position of an occupant therein and the definite independence from each other of the seat and back rest; and

Fig. 9 is a view similar to Fig. 8 of the present seat construction showing the normal position of an occupant therein.

Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly to Figs.*1 to 4, inclusive, thereof, the construction of this invention is shown in one form as-comprising a base II! which may be provided with any suitable legs or other means of upport to space it from the floor when desired. In the present figures under consideration, the base in is shown as comprising a flat solid member, preferably of wood. It is, of course, to be understood that the base illustrated may be of any desired shape, construction, or materials without departing fromthe spirit of this invention, sinceany type of base may be employed that is suitable for supporting a resilient seat construction.

A plurality of spaced compression springs I4 are mounted on the base ID in any desired manner, the compression springs l4 supporting a seat frame I 5. 'The seat frame preferably comprises a substantially rectangular member of which the sides and front are ofwood to facilitate the fixing of the upholstery thereto and of which the back is a wire rod liforming a hinge for pivotal connection with the back rest l7. It is under the usual padding of cotton or hair may be placed.

Also/a definite contour similar to the contour of the back rest is thus provided so as to maintain the outside contour of the whole seat pleasing in design, without detracting from the comfort and resiliency of the seat as a whole.

The shape and construction of the seat frame, of course, may bevaried with the usual practices,

since the present showing of the seat frame is merely for illustrative purposes. The seat frame,

therefore, is capable of vertical movement against the compression of the springs I4. A pair of the frame is disposed a housing 22 formed preferably of a strip of sheet metal of L-shape having one end secured to the back 2| and the other end to one of the sides 20 in such a manner as to surround and enclose the upper part of the supports.

l9. These separate housings 22 act as means to attach the vertical actuating mechanism to the floating back rest in resilient connection with the fixed supports l9. Interposed between the upper ends of each of the supports l9 and the front face I of the housing 22 is a comparatively stiff compression spring 25, one end of' each of the compression springs being fixed to a rocker 25 pivotally connected to the supports I 9, and the other end of each of the compression springs being fixed to a rocker 26 connected to, and for pivotal movement with, the housing 22. A flat hinge-like member 2!! is connected in the manner of the spring 24 to prevent sidewise movement of the box-like back rest H.

The members 25 and 26 are free to partake of a limited rocking movement without allowing the compression springs or coils 24 to buckle or the convolutions thereof to become displaced to any substantial degree from their common axes when movement is had of the frame 2| in a vertical direction. Such a construction, showing the use of rockers for the use of the support of coils, is shown and described in a patent issued to the inventor hereof on December 26, 1933, Patent No.

1,940,853. However, the coil springs mounting of the patent is shown herein for illustrative purposes only, and it is understood that the present invention is not to be limited to that particular type of support. a

The comparatively stiff compression springs 24 will hereinafter be calledthe "primary flex ible. supporting means of the back rest. Their function is two-fold; first to tend to resist the horizontal movement of the back rest and the person leaning thereon, and second, to connect the back rest with the vertically extending supports IS. The springs should be capable of only slight compression, or in other words, offer substantial resistance, and therefore provide a firm feeling which is transmitted to substantially the small of the back by reason of the spacing thereof. I

Referring now to Figs. 2 and 3, there will be seen interposed between and above the primary springs and the housing 22 a pad of soft resilient springs 28, hereinafter called the secondary flexible supporting means of the back rest. In this instance of use, there is illustrated preferably what is known -as Marshall springs ina unit pad comprising soft springs, each of which is enclosed in a muslin bag. It is to be understood, of course, that any kind of secondary flexlble supporting means may be used, such as hair,

hair dipped in gummed rubber, cotton or otherv soft resilient material, the Marshall springs being used for illustrative purposes only.

Although the primary flexible supporting means is located substantially at the small of the back of the person leaning against the back rest, it has been found that the relatively stiff flexibility thereof, as distinguished from the relative softness of the secondary flexible supporting means, should not be too apparent but should, in efiect, impart a firmness to the whole floating frame of the backrest and at the same time impart an indirect yet firm support to the small of the back of the person only on each side of that portion of the body. In between the primary supporting means, the secondary means should reach down to the bottom of the back a uniform resis ance throughout, and the portion of-the back exerting the greatest pressure will be permitted to travel the greatest distance, thereby effecting an unnatural curved or bowed posture. Further, the relative movement between the seat and the back rest promotes a creeping-of the clothes of the wearer. However, in Fig. 9, the

compression springs are not uniform but, on the' contrary, offer the greatest resistance over that portion of the back where the greatest pressure is obtained to offer a comparatively firm yet flexible support thereat. The posture resulting from such a support is illustrated in Fig. 9 and is uniformly correct for all normal occupants. This support is afforded "continuously, irrespec tive of whether the seat is compressed by an occupant or extended to its normal position. No

creeping of the clothes needoccur.

It may be found desirable, under some cir-' cumstances, to permit more backward movement of the body of a person above the small of the back than the forms in Figs. 1, 2, and 3 would allow.

In these forms the effect of softness above'the primary means would be limited to-the extent that the fullness of the upholstery cover could flex backward and forward between the hard edges of the sides of the frame 2|.

Referring to Figs. 5 and 6, there is shown a modification of the back rest frame 2| of Figs.

1,2, and 3, the elements of the latter figures being the same with the exception of the sides 20 which are cut away as at 2i above the primary supporting means and above the small of the back of a person. A wire member 29 is pivoted at 30 within the cut-away portion to act as an.

edge support for'the upholstery.- The secondary supporting means 28 can be, if desired, fastened H to this border wire, and it willbe clear, therefore, that a much greater backward movement will be allowed without tearing or wearing of-the upholstery cover which latter may be made up in a continuous strip. Y

In the operation of the above seat constructionsthe seat frame I! is moved downwardly in,

a substantially vertical direction by the weight of an occupant, the seat being prevented from, horizontal movement by a guide rod 3| disposed on each side thereof and connected at one end thereof to an-upright II as by means of a rivet and at the other end-thereof to the rear end of the seat. The rod I. of the seat l5, being pivotally connected to the lowerv end'of the back rest i1, carries the-forward edge thereof downwardly with the seat to provide 'a unison of vertical movement.

, The back of anoccupant may rest against the upholstery of .the back rest I! and the box-like frame surrounding the upright supports i9 moves rearwardly'as a unit against the resistance of the primary flexible supporting means, thelcontour of the back being-fitted in restful supportin comfort -by the secondary flexible S pp rtingvmeans.

There is a definite co -operation between the specific type of flexible supporting means in the back rest and the unison seat. If the back rest did not 'move vertically in unison with the seat,

the primary and secondarytypes of flexible sup- Y porting means would losetheir more desirable effectiveness. The primary flexible supporting means should follow the movement of the ,back' of theindividual -to offer support continuously over the desired portion thereof, the same being true ofthe secondary flexible supporting means.

Referring now particularly to Fig. 'l of the drawings, the seat construction is shown as being embodied in an article of furniture. In this case a pair of guide rods 3|! are disposed on opposite sides'of the seat-,each rod being pivotallyattached at one end thereof to an upstanding rigid support 32' secured to the base li The other end of the guide rod 3| is pivotally secured as at M to the lower forward end of a floating frame indicated as a whole by the nu-' meral 2]. The function of the guide rod II is to force the floating frame 2| to move in a fixed substantially vertical path, the lower end of the frame having only such relative horizontal movement as'is necessitated by the radius of the guide rod 3h. In thegpreviously described embodiment, the

wooden frame l5, shown particularly in Fig. 1, is-

supplanted in the present instance by a substan-.

tlally rectangular wire frame lifi'each of the.

rear ends of which is attached to the pivotal con-' nection 3|" between the guide rod 3| and thelower end of the floating frame, II. The front free end of the wire frame I! is movablever-Y tically against the resistance of the coil springs l4 on which the frame rests. The primary pur- 4 7 soft and flexible The floating frame 2|- comprises preferably a sheet metal member 20' extending across the rear of the back rest having a preferably sheet. metal channel strip 22- on each side thereof in align-,

ment with rigid supports ll' extending upwardly from and fixedly secured to the base ll, each of the strips 22! having a' substantially U-shaped intermediate portion upon'which a rocker!" is pivotally mounted. A similarrocker li is pivotally mounted on the upp nd of the rigid ence to the preceding modifications. The floaia directmn- 3891M. the resistance of th m p s 24*. I

The backrest is provided with arm In this manner pose of the wire frame is to retain the uphoistered seat in a desired shape.

'the whole front of the seat is and presents no hard front edge to the occupant.v

support it for co-operation with the pivotally. mounted rocker 20' to receive a primary spring-j 2 in the samemanner'as described withrefer- 701'" ing frame 2 I is therefore movable in a horizontal tially rectangular wire or other flexible frame II for the purpose of retaining the upholstery in a desired shape and for the further purpose of permitting. the secondary springs lg to flex in any desired manner. The secondary springs are disposed between the sheet metal back and the wire frame to be enclosed by the upholstery and to permit horizontal movement of the body of the occupant against the resistance of the springs. The 'wire frame I! is not connected to any fixed support but is merely held between the secondary springs 28 and the upholstery. The frame I'l while having independent horizontal movement, is required to follow accurately the vertical movement of the seat since the forward end of the bottom of the rest overlies and is supported by the rear end of the seat.

In the operation of the structure just dc.- scribed, the weight of a person on the seat will compress the springs H and permit the frame Il to drop downwardly. The back rest is supported by the seat frame It and will therefore move downwardly therewith. The back rest when engaged by the weight of a person resting thereagainst will move as a whole rearwardly horizontally against the compression of the coil spring and the curvature of the body of a person will be :gcommodated by the relatively soft coil springs While several embodiments are herein shown and described, it is to be understood that various modifications thereof may be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention, and, therefore, the same is only to be limited by the scope of the prior art and the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a device of the character described, a base for resting on a supporting surface, a horizontally extending seat frame, movable means on said base supporting said seat frame for vertical movement thereof, a substantially vertically extending support fixed relative to said base, a substantially vertically extending back rest comprising a single housin'g of box-like formation enclosing said fixed I support andengaging said seat frame for vertical movement therewith and having horizontal movement relative thereto, and relatively stiff and other relatively soft flexible supporting means confined within said housing to follow the vertical movement thereof, said relatively soft flexible supporting means being supported by said housing, and means connecting said stifl flexible supporting means to said fixed support and to said housing for permitting free floating movement of said housing, said stiff flexible supporting means being adapted to offer relatively great resistance to the movement of said housing as'a whole and said soft flexible supporting means being adapted to offer relatively little resistance within saidhousing to the horizontalmovement of the body of an occupant resting thereagainst. 2. In a device of the character described, a

. base for resting on a supporting surface, a horizontally extending seat frame, movable means on said base supporting said seat frame for vertical movement thereof, a substantially vertically extending support fixed relative to said base, a substantially vertically extending back rest comprising a single housing of box-like formation enclosing said fixed support and eng ing said seat frame for vertical movement therewith and having horizontal movement relative thereto, and relatively stiff and other relatively soft flexible said fixed support and to said housing for per-' mitting free floating movement of said housing, said stiff flexible supporting means being adapted to offer relatively great resistance to the movement of said housing as a whole and said soft flexible supporting means being adapted to offer relatively little resistance within said housing to the horizontal movement of the body of an occupant I'm .1 1 I 3. In a device of the character described, a base for resting on a supporting surface, a horizontally extending seat frame, movable means on said base supporting said seat frame for vertical movement thereof, a substantially vertically extending support fixed relative to said base,- a substantially vertically extending back rest comprising a single housing of box-like formation enclosing said-fixed support and said seat frame for vertical movement therewith and having horizontal movement relative thereto, and

relatively stiff compression springs and relatively soft flexible supporting means confined within said housing to follow the vertical movement thereof, said relatively soft flexible supporting means being supported by said housing, and means pivotally connecting said stifi. flexible compression springs to said fixed support and to said a housing for permitting free floating movement of said homing, said stiif flexible compression springs being adapted to offer relatively great resistance to the movement of said housing as a whole and said soft flexible supporting means being adapted to offer relatively little resistance within said I housing to the horizontal movement of the body movement thereof, a substantially vertically extending support fixed relative. to said base, a substantially vertically extending back rest comprising a single housing of box-like formation enclosing said fixed support and engaging said seat frame for vertical movement therewith and having horizontal movement rela- -tive.thereto, and relatively stiff and other relatively soft sets 'of compression springs confined within said housing to follow the vertical movement thereof, said relatively soft compression springs being supported by said housing, and means pivotally connecting said stiff flexible set of compression springs to said fixed support and to said housing for permitting free floating movement of said housing, said stiff flexible set of compression springs being adapted to offer relatively great resistance to the movement of said housing as a whole'and said soft flexible set of compression springs being adapted-to ofler relatively little resistan thin said housing to the horizontal moveme t of the body of an occupant resting thereag'ainst.

5. In a device of the character described, a base for resting on a supporting surface, a horizontallyextending seat frame, movable means on said base supporting said seat frame for vertical movement thereof, a substantially vertically extending support fixed relative to said base, a substantially vertically extending back rest comprising a single housing of box-like formation enclosing said fixed support and engagingsaid seat frame for vertical movement therewith and having horizontal movement relative thereto, and relatively stiff and other relatively. soft flexible supporting means confined within said housing to follow the vertical movement thereof, said relatively soft flexible supporting means being supported by said housing, and means connecting said stiff flexible supporting means to said fixed support and to said housing for permitting free floating movement of said housing, said stiff flexible supporting means being adapted to offer relatively great resistance to the movement of said housing as a whole and said soft flexible supporting means being adapted to offer rela-' tively little resistance within said housing to the horizontal movement of the body of an occupant resting thereagainst, said housing including portions enclosing said vertically extending flxed support and projecting rearwardly thereof whereby said seat frame and-housing areadapted to be upholstered by a preformed continuous strip entirely enclosing the same.

'6. In a device of the character described, a base for resting on a supporting surface, a horizontally extending seat frame, movable means on said base supporting said seat frame for vertical movement thereof, a substantially vertically extending support fixed relative to said base, a'

substantially vertically extending back rest comprising a rear comparatively rigid base having forwardly: extending rigid arms and a flexible frame spaced from said rigid base, said rigid base pivotally engaging saidseat frame for vertical movement therewith, and relatively stiff and other relatively soft flexible supporting "means. lying adjacent said forwardly extending rigid arms to follow the vertical movement thereof, said relatively soft flexible supporting means engaging said rigid base and resiliently supporting said flexible said stiff flexible supporting meansto said flxed support and to said rigid arms for permitting free floating movement of said housing, said stiff flexible supporting means being adapted to offer relatively great resistance to the movement of said housing as a whole and said soft flexible supporting means being adapted to offer. relahorizontal movement of the body of an occupant resting thereagainst.

7. In a device of the character described, a base for resting ona supporting surface, a horizontally extending seat frame, movable means on said base supporting said seat frame for-vertical movement thereof, a substantially vertically ex-' tending support fixed relative to said base, a

substantially vertically extending back rest comprising a rear comparatively rigid base havin forwardly extending rigid arms and a wire frame spaced from said rigid base, said rigid base 'frame of said back rest, and means-connecting tively little resistance within said housing to the pivotally engaging said seat frame for vertical movement therewith, and relatively stiff compression springs and relatively soft flexible sup- .porting means lying adjacent said forwardly extending rigid arms to follow the vertical movement thereof, said relatively soft flexible sup- I porting, means engaging said rigid base and resiliently supporting said wire frame, and means pivotally connecting said stiff flexible compression springs to said fixed'support and to said rigid arms for permitting free floating movement of said housing, said stifl flexible supporting means being adapted to offer relatively great resistance to the movement of said-housing as a whole and said soft flexible supporting means being adapted to offer relatively little resistance within said housing to the horizontal movement of the body of an occupant resting thereagainst.

HYLAND C. FLINT. 

